welcome to "newsline." it's friday, february 22nd. a senior official says barack obama is looking forward to what abe has to say. he said obama is eager to hear about a dispute with china.

abe is meeting obama for the first time since he moved back into the prime minister's office two months ago. they are expected to discuss a free trade deal, the alliance between their countries and the push for united nations sanctions on north korea. obama wants to hear abe's take on the dispute over the senkaku islands. japan nationalized the islands in december. china and taiwan claim them. it's in the interest of the obama administration to have the dispute solved in a peaceful manner. prime nister abe i planning visitussia borehe end of the year to meet with the president. when he does another dispute, another issue will be on the agenda.

russia control tgs islands and japan claims them. >> translator: this is an important year to build a new relationship. i hope it paves the way for abe's visit. >> mori delivered a letter from abe. putin said he, too, hoped for better things ahead. >> translator: i'm looking forward to meeting with prime minister abe. i hope it will lead to improved relations. >> mori and putin discussed a statement issued in 2001 when mori was prime minister. the statement reaffirmed the

validity of the 1956 japan soviet joint declaration. the declaration states that russia will return two of the disputed islands to japan after a peace treaty is signed. officials never signed the treaty. still, mori and putin agreed they can't ignore the statement. putin says it's abnormal that the countries have no peace treaty. mori says japanese and russian leaders need to resolve the territorial issue. people in western japan are preparing for a ceremony to promote the country's claim to islands in the sea of japan, territory they call takashima. the japanese government will send a representative for the first time. south korea controls the ie loonds islands. they designated february 22nd takashima day.loonds islands. they designated february 22nd takashima day.islands. they designated february 22nd takashima day. about 500 people are expected to attend the annual ceremony, including lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties. the cabinet office, parliamentary secretary in charge of the issue would be the

first representative of the japanese government ev to take part. south korean officialsave criticed janese government officials for attending the event. >> translator: it's regrettable that such an event is being held. if japanese officials attend, the south korean government will take countermeasures. >> many south koreans have backed away from criticizing japanese over the past few months. they have turned their attention to the inauguration next week of their new president. many have disparaged the japanese in the run-up to this day. gather for protest rally in to front of the japese embassy in sel. militants have set off a car bomb in damascus. state run television replayed the video over and over. reporters said the bomb was a terrorist plot carried out by

rebel fighters. opposition activists say the government side conducting the boing they could make a apegoat of opposition forces. police across india are on alert. officers suspect terrorists were responsible. police say the bombs exploded in the early evening in a busy shopping district. extremists have carried out repeated attacks including one six years ago that killed more than 40 people. india's me minister admitted heen warned about acts of terror. major u.s. media report that boeing has developed possible fixes for the battery problems of its dreamliner aircraft. if the fixes work, 787 airliners could be back in the air as early as april. the new boeing 787 fleet was

grounded in january after a series of problems occurred with their lithium ion batteries. the "new york times" and the "wall street journal" report that boeing officials plan to propose the fixes to the federal aviation administration as early as friday. the u.s. newspapers say that boeing plans to redesign the arrangement of eight lithium ion batteries -- that's lithium ion cells in each battery -- and add insulation in between them. boeing told the media that the changes could minimize the risk of a short circuit or fire in one of the cells spreading to others. the plane manufacturer also told the media that it plans to put the batteries in new protective cases so that the failure of single cells will not cause fires. the two u.s. newspapers said the faa would not approve the proposed changes immediately. they report that federal officials are likely to demand more tests and assurances to win back public confidence.

people who export goods are happy about it but they are critics. ai joins us from the business desk. >> major economies embark on similarly bold monetary easing measures just as japan. it works to weaken all of their asor japan a report from the international monetary fund dismisses worries that japan's monetary easing could lead to a global currency war. the concerns are overstated. the report states the recent move in the currency market is correcting the excessively strong yen. it says recent market moves reflect the fundamentals of the global economy. imf officials point out that japan's trade deficit is growing and moves by traders to by the yen as a relatively safe currency has paused. these factors led to weaker yen.

stronger monetary easing measures are needed. the report was issued at the g20 meeting that took place last weekend in moscow. many participants at a recent trade policy meeting may also have backed japan's economic program, but some concerns aut the falling yen. japan's representatives faced a policy review at the world trade organization in geneva. wto members generally welcomed japan's economic program. they said the policies raised hope japan can recover from the downturn. they also stressed japan should pursue further structural reform, including more trade liberalization. but south korean and chinese representatives expressed

concerns over the yen's deappreciation. they said japan could intentionally be driving down the yen for boosting its exports. the japanese delegates explained their monetary easing is aimed at lifting japan out of deflation. the dollar is slightly lower against the yen. th sources say traders are selling the dollar after key u.s. manufacturing data came in worse than what most analysts had anticipated. the euro is also losing ground against the yen that's after key business activity data in the euro zone worsened. the euro is being quoted at 122.74 to 79 yen. tokyo share prices are lore and this follows overnight declines on u.s. and european stock

markets due to poor economic data from the euro zone. the nikkei at 11,198. that's a loss of almost 1% so far from thursday's close. in the asia pacific the kospi is down slightly about a fifth of a percent at 2,011. in australia the benchmark index is up by 1%, 5,036. london wine buffs have had chance to sip an exotic new vinte. 12 japanese wine producers from the leading wine area held a tasting on thursday. more than 100 local importers and restaurant owners flocked to the event. the hosts posted out the

delicate aromas to the visitors. they offered japanese and western cuisine carely matched to go with the wine. >> the wines are great. >> they have exported about 10,000 bottles over three years. global buyers have held back because of the strong yen. now there's good news for wine exporters and wine lovers. >> that's the latest in business for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

u.s. computer security experts have linked the military to cyber attacks on american firms. they say the hackers have broken through firewalls and stolen trade secrets. but chinese leaders insist they're not to blame. nhk world reports. >> reporter: hackers have more and more u.s. firms and organizations in their crosshairs. they've hit a range of targets, including air space, energy and information technology companies. some are household names, such

as apple, facebook and twitter. managers at all those firms revealed this month that they've been hit by hackers. someone stole the computer passwords last october of employees of the "new york times." >> at that point we were pretty certain that there were some hackers in our network, and the fbi said, as did at&t, that this had all the hallmarks of hacking by the chinese military. >> reporter: offials at the dertment of homela secity pulled up some numbers to illustrate what's happening. they say hackers just hit nine u.s. firms in 2009. two years later, that figure jumped to 198. analysts at a computer consumer firm blame a unit of the chinese military. the analysts issued this report exposing chinese espionage units, and they referred to hackers as the advanced persistent threat. they said the groups conducting

these activities are based primarily in cna, and they say the chinese government is aware of them. the analysts say a group known as apt1 has targeted nearly 150 victims over seven years, institutions and companies around the world. they concluded that the group is likely government sponsored. they traced apt1 to four computer networks in shanghai. the analysts linked two of the networks to a unit of the people's liberation army. unit commanders are set to recruit security skills that are fluent in english. they recruit several hundred to several thousand members. u.s. law enforcement officials have launched a campaign to crack down on those stealing trade secrets. >> as critical technologies have advanced, criminals have adapted accordingly. our need to keep pace with these changes remains imperative, and

the stakes have really never been higher. >> reporter: chinese government officials say they're not involved. they say many of the attacks come from the u.s. >> translator: china has also been tarted by hackers. it's irresponsible and unprofessional to make groundless accusations. it does not help in resolving the hacking issue. >> now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid. >> reporter: u.s. president barack obama has issued an executive order to protect infrastructure. he and other leaders have raised most of their concerns with the chinese in private. the report could serve as a more public warning to beijing. nhk world, tokyo. vietnamese who live in rural areas are starting to see the effects of the city on their daily lives. urban pollution is spreading to the countryside, and it's affecting their health. but some japanese businesspeople have stepped in to help.

nhk world has more from hanoi. >> reporter: vietnam's economy is racing ahead. but not everybody is moving forward. hanoi is crowded with motorbikes. across the country, people work with circumstances in the environment. this river running through tepco is dangerous. the environment readings are four times higher than recommended by the government. people living downstream are suffering the consequences. juan and his wife were born and raised in this village. they are farmers who survive by growing rice and other crops. the day is spent walking in the

rice paddies. >> translator: the watery fill my paddies with is black. my legs itch from working in the rice fields. water shouldn't be black, but i have no choice but to use that terrible water for farming. >> reporter: there are many such worries about pollution. a new deal originating in japan is gaining public attention. the japan international corporation agency, or jica, is encouraging japanese companies to start an environment business in vietnam by extending low-interest loans. a family to mark the first product incorporated in japan last month. he works at the company that received loan from jica. the farm has advanced technology

for processing industry. the company has been looking to enter the vietnamese market. it began inspecting polluted areas of the country four years ago. they discovered that even though many industrial complexes in vietnam have wastewater processing facilities, often they don't function properly for the japanese farm, a business opportunity. >> translator: this color? no way. absolutely not. the water was supposedly just processed, but the processing facility isn't working properly. this work is purely cosmetic. >> tanaka's company had the

problem with funding. after about $41 million from jica, it formed a joint venture with a partner to create wastewater facilities. they will build and operate a plant to process river water for industrial use. they will also create industrial waste water and put it down the river. that experience, coupled with japanese companies. the japanese government is making its own efforts, and assistance is also helping. but it seems that's not enough to tackle the problem. the new population is raising hopes that technology from japan will have a real impact on their lives and wellbeing of people in

vietnam. nhk world, hanoi. >> the worsening air pollution problem in china has prompted japanese parents to take action. more than 60 people attended a lecture on how to protect their children in air pollution. when the density of pm 2.5 vehicle exhaust and industrial discharge beijing is almost as contaminated as major out break.

>> translator: it will keep their children healthy at home and at school. >> the official says the schools will urge students to take further precautionary measures such as wearing masks. time now to get a check on the weather. people in madagascar are being affected by a powerful storm. >> we have an intense storm to

talk about. it looks like it will maintain its intensify and it's really slow pace. this will be making landfall any time soon and it will move over land and decrease its intensity temporarily. this is already packing wind speed of50 kilometers per hour. it's likely the continue to cause the gusts and storm surges with the high waves, low lying areas in the coastal regions will be targeted with some flooding situation. 300 millimeters of rainfall will be battering the region and the gusts as well. we'll keep a close eye on the system for the next few days. over here in asia across japan the north western flank has been seeing significant amounts of rainfall. 550 centimeters of snow has been

observed. as of this morning about five meters high here in sukayu. into the next 24 hours we're looking at additional snowfall amounts of 50 centimeters across the north western flank. gusts are very strong. also thunder storms are going to be in store for you the overnight hours. it's really nasty weather ahead of us. the pacific side will be remaining devoid from precipitation and the temperatures are shaping up like this. tokyo at 9. a little bit warmer than yesterday but biting cold out there at minus 11. here over towards the north american continent finally atlantic canada you'll see things taper off. heavier snow is targeting the heart of america. you can clearly see the defined

comma. it's a weather pattern that dumped heavy snow amounts and caused the closing of school, cancellation of air flights, numerous power downs and traffic disturbances. take a look at these photos from kansas. the heavy snow has caused traffic disruption across kansas and the central plains. a state of emergency was declared on thursday. wichita had some 25 centimeters of snow in several hours which is the heaviest in 26 years. a lot of travel disturbances and accidents are occurring around the central plains. let's take aim to e great lakes region. additional snowfall could be as much as 30 centimeters and icy roads will dominate much of these regions. down toward the south another low pressure system will be creating severe weather. tornadic activity cannot be ruled out. temperatures are shaping up like this with wichita minus two. the averages around 8 degrees.

a quick look here in europe. much of the northern half of the region is looking at dry and cold weather but rlly nasty weather would will across the central mediterranean region. coastal rain will target the peninsula. madrid will be down to single digits for your weekend. here's your extended forecast.

u.s. president barack obama is getting ready to welcome japanese prime minister shinzo abe to the oval office. a senior official says obama wants to hear about a territorial dispute with china. abe is meeting obama for the first time since he moved baaing into the prime minister's office two months ago. they are expected to discuss a free trade deal, alliance between their countries and a push for sanctions on north korea. danny russell is in charge of asian faaffairs. he says obama wants to hear abe's take on the dispute in the sea. chinese ships have entered the waters around them repeatedly over the last few months. russell said it's in the interest of the obama administration to he is diute solved in peaceful